India won't send army to handle coronavirus unless requested
Clarifying that the [Indian] government does not have any immediate plans to deploy the army in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan to greatly help tackle the coronavirus pandemic, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources said on Friday that Rapid Response medical Teams of the Indian Army would only be deployed "if requested," said The Hindu in a news report on Friday.
"We've responded promptly to requests for deployment of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) comprising doctors, nurses and paramedics to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, to Maldives and Kuwait. These RRTs are prepared for deployment to other friendly countries at short notice if requested by them," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, discussing reports on preparations for military-medical deployment as "misleading".
"We've kept teams on standby, if required by them," MEA sources said. MoD officials when contacted declined to touch upon the issue.
Vehement denials
The government's clarification comes after senior officials in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh denied any plans to generate the Indian military for assistance.
On Friday, Afghanistan's National Security Council spokesman, Javid Faisal was quoted by Saudi Arabia based Arab News as saying that "there has never been such a request from Kabul, nor has there been such an indicator from Delhi. These are false reports, even false perceptions".
Earlier, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen on Wednesday told the New Age Bangladesh newspaper in Dhaka that medical teams from abroad were not required.
"We do not need such assistance; rather we are sending teams to different countries," Mr. Momen said, discussing Bangladesh's supplies to Maldives, Bhutan, Kuwait and China.
In Sri Lanka, too, Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne (Retd) ruled out the necessity for Indian military assistance. "Our military has already displayed their expertise and professionalism in handling the emergency situation created under coronavirus threat," he told reporters in Colombo on Wednesday.
The confusion seems to have arisen over a press note issued by the MoD on April 3 that said, "Six naval ships are kept ready for assistance to neighbouring countries. Five medical teams are also on standby for deployment in Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan."
